The buttocks (singular: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the

perineum The perineum in humans is the space between the anus and scrotum in the male, or between the anus and the vulva in the female. The perineum is the region of the body between the pubic symphysis (pubic arch) and the coccyx (tail bone), includi ...

. They are composed of a layer of exterior skin and underlying subcutaneous fat superimposed on a left and right

gluteus maximus The gluteus maximus is the main extensor muscle of the hip. It is the largest and outermost of the three gluteal muscles and makes up a large part of the shape and appearance of each side of the hips. It is the single largest muscle in the huma ...

and

gluteus medius muscle The gluteus medius, one of the three gluteal muscles, is a broad, thick, radiating muscle. It is situated on the outer surface of the pelvis. Its posterior third is covered by the gluteus maximus, its anterior two-thirds by the gluteal aponeuros ...

s. The two gluteus maximus muscles are the largest muscles in the human body. They are responsible for movements such as straightening the body into the upright (standing) posture when it is bent at the waist; maintaining the body in the upright posture by keeping the hip joints extended; and propelling the body forward via further leg (hip) extension when walking or running. In the seated position, the buttocks bear the weight of the upper body and take that weight off the feet. In many cultures, the buttocks play a role in

sexual attraction Sexual attraction is attraction on the basis of sexual desire or the quality of arousing such interest. Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal is an individual's ability to attract other people sexually, and is a factor in sexual selection or ...

. Many cultures have also used the buttocks as a primary target for corporal punishment, as the buttocks' layer of subcutaneous fat offers protection against injury while still allowing for the infliction of pain. There are several connotations of buttocks in art, fashion, culture and humor. The English language is replete with many popular synonyms that range from polite colloquialisms ("posterior", "backside" or "bottom") to vulgar slang ( "arse," "ass," "bum," "butt," "booty," "prat").

Anatomy

The buttocks are formed by the masses of the gluteal muscles or "glutes" (the

gluteus maximus muscle The gluteal muscles, often called glutes are a group of three muscles which make up the gluteal region commonly known as the buttocks: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. The three muscles originate from the ilium and sacr ...

and the

) superimposed by a layer of fat. The superior aspect of the buttock ends at the

iliac crest The crest of the ilium (or iliac crest) is the superior border of the wing of ilium and the superiolateral margin of the greater pelvis. Structure The iliac crest stretches posteriorly from the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) to the poster ...

, and the lower aspect is outlined by the

horizontal gluteal crease The gluteal sulcus (also known as the gluteal fold, fold of the buttock or horizontal gluteal crease) is an area of the body of humans and anthropoid apes, described by a horizontal crease formed by the inferior aspect of the buttocks Th ...

. The gluteus maximus has two insertion points: superior portion of the

linea aspera The linea aspera ( la, rough line) is a ridge of roughened surface on the posterior surface of the shaft of the femur. It is the site of attachments of muscles and the intermuscular septum. Its margins diverge above and below. The linea aspera ...

of the

femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates ...

, and the superior portion of the iliotibial tractus. The masses of the gluteus maximus muscle are separated by an intermediate

intergluteal cleft The intergluteal cleft or just gluteal cleft, also known by a number of synonyms, including natal cleft, butt crack, and cluneal cleft, is the groove between the buttocks that runs from just below the sacrum to the perineum, so named because it f ...

or "crack" in which the

anus The anus (Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, the residual semi-solid waste that remains after food digestion, which, ...

is situated. The buttocks allow primates to sit upright without needing to rest their weight on their feet as four-legged animals do. Females of certain species of

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow baboon, the Kinda baboon and the chacma ...

have red buttocks that blush to attract males. In the case of humans, females tend to have proportionally wider and thicker buttocks due to higher

subcutaneous fat The subcutaneous tissue (), also called the hypodermis, hypoderm (), subcutis, superficial fascia, is the lowermost layer of the integumentary system in vertebrates. The types of cells found in the layer are fibroblasts, adipose cells, and macro ...

and proportionally wider hips. In humans they also have a role in propelling the body in a forward motion and aiding bowel movement. Some

s and all

gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast Indi ...

s, though otherwise fur-covered, have characteristic naked callosities on their buttocks. While human children generally have smooth buttocks, mature males and females have varying degrees of hair growth, as on other parts of their body. Females may have hair growth in the gluteal cleft (including around the anus), sometimes extending laterally onto the lower aspect of the cheeks. Males may have hair growth over some or all of the buttocks.

Society and culture

Connotations

The English word of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

origin "

callipygian The ''Venus Callipyge'', also known as the ''Aphrodite Kallipygos'' ( el, Ἀφροδίτη Καλλίπυγος) or the ''Callipygian Venus'', all literally meaning "Venus (or Aphrodite) of the beautiful buttocks", is an Ancient Roman marble stat ...

" indicates someone who has beautiful buttocks. Depending on the context, exposure of the buttocks in non-intimate situations can cause feelings of embarrassment or humiliation, and embarrassment or amusement in an onlooker (see

pantsing Pantsing, also known as depantsing, debagging, dacking, flagging, sharking, and scanting is the pulling down of a person's trousers and sometimes also underpants, usually against their wishes, and typically as a practical joke or a form of bully ...

). Willfully exposing one's own bare buttocks as a protest, a provocation, or just for fun is called

mooning Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, and also potentially exposing the genitals. Mooning is used in the English-speaki ...

. In many punitive traditions, the buttocks are a common target for corporal punishment, which can be meted out with no risk of long-term physical harm compared with the dangers of applying it to other parts of the body, such as the hands, which could easily be damaged. Within the Victorian school system in England, the buttocks have been described as "the place provided by nature" for this purpose. A modern-day example can be seen in some Southeast Asian countries, such as Singapore.

Caning in Singapore Caning is a widely used form of corporal punishment in Singapore. It can be divided into several contexts: judicial, prison, reformatory, military, school, and domestic. These practices of caning as punishment were introduced during the period ...

is widely used as a form of

judicial corporal punishment The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

, with male convicts being sentenced to a

caning Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts") with a single cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks (see spanking) or hands (on the ...

on their bare buttocks. In Western and some other cultures, many comedians, writers and others rely on the buttocks as a source of amusement, camaraderie and fun. There are numerous colloquial terms for the buttocks. In

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances ...

, phrases use the buttocks or synonyms (especially "butt" and "ass") as a

synecdoche Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy: it is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something is used to refer to the whole ('' pars pro toto''), or vice versa ('' totum pro parte''). The term comes from Greek . Examples in common E ...

pars pro toto ''Pars pro toto'' (, ), , is a figure of speech where the name of a ''portion'' of an object, place, or concept is used or taken to represent its entirety. It is distinct from a merism, which is a reference to a whole by an enumeration of parts; ...

for a whole person, often with a negative connotation. For example, terminating an employee may be described as "firing his ass". One might say "move your ass" or "haul ass" as an exhortation to greater haste or urgency. Expressed as a function of punishment, defeat or assault becomes "kicking one's ass". Such phrases also may suggest a person's characteristics, e.g. difficult people are termed "hard asses". In the US, an annoying person or any source of frustration may be termed "a pain in the ass" (a synonym for "a pain in the neck"). People deemed excessively puritanical or proper may be termed "tight asses" (in Australia and New Zealand, "tight arse" refers to someone who is excessively miserly). Certain physical dispositions of the buttocks—particularly size—are sometimes identified, controversially, as a racial characteristic (see

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

). A famous example was the case of

Saartjie Baartman Sarah Baartman (; 1789– 29 December 1815), also spelt Sara, sometimes in the diminutive form Saartje (), or Saartjie, and Bartman, Bartmann, was a Khoikhoi woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th-century Europe under the n ...

, the so-called "Hottentot Venus".

Synonyms

Posterior view of human female and male, without labels

The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

name for the buttocks is ''nates'' (English pronunciation , classical pronunciation ''nătes'' ) which is plural; the singular, ''natis'' (buttock), is rarely used. There are many colloquial terms to refer to them, including: * Backside, posterior, behind and its derivates (hind-quarters, hinder or the childish diminutive "heinie" (US usage only), strictly the whole body behind the hind leg-trunk attachment), rear or rear-end, ''derrière'' (French for "behind")—all strictly positional descriptions, as the inaccurate use of rump (as in 'rump roast', after a 'hot' spanking), thighs, upper legs; analogous are: **

Aft "Aft", in nautical terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning towards the stern (rear) of the ship, aircraft or spacecraft, when the frame of reference is within the ship, headed at the fore. For example, "Able Seaman Smith; lie aft!" or "Wh ...

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Or ...

and poop, naval in origin; in nautical jargon, buttocks also designates the aftermost portion of a

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

above the

water line The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...

and in front of the rudder, merging with the run below the water line **

Caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, dam ...

, originally a ship's galley in wooden cabin on deck; also the "rear end" car of a freight train, considered a cute synonym suitable for any audience ** Bottom (and the shortening "bot" as well as childish diminutives "bottie" or "botty"), but the use of similar-sounding "

booty Booty may refer to: Music * Booty music (also known as Miami bass or booty bass), a subgenre of hip hop * "Booty" (Jennifer Lopez song), 2014 * Booty (Blac Youngsta song), 2017 *Booty (C. Tangana and Becky G song), 2018 *"Booty", a 1993 song by ...

" or "bootie" may be related. **

Tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammal ...

(strictly anatomically a

zoomorphism The word ''zoomorphism'' derives from the Greek ζωον (''zōon''), meaning "animal", and μορφη (''morphē''), meaning "shape" or "form". In the context of art, zoomorphism could describe art that imagines humans as non-human animals. It c ...

, humans only have a

tail-bone The coccyx ( : coccyges or coccyxes), commonly referred to as the tailbone, is the final segment of the vertebral column in all apes, and analogous structures in certain other mammals such as horses. In tailless primates (e.g. humans and other ...

, yet the illogical "tail feather" was popularized by musicians. When used to refer to a woman or to women in general, the term is derogatory; also used for the even more sensual

phallus A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precise ...

) and ''tail-end'' ** Trunk, in American English, particularly when describing large buttocks: "junk in the trunk" *

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

, referring to the similar shape of the fruit, derived from the 1970s. Also likened to an upside-down heart, attributed from various, popular ads of the 1970s. * Arse or ass, arsehole or asshole, and (butt-)hole: a ''

'' (strictly only the actual body cavity and directly adjoining anal region); also used as an insult for a person. The term arse is

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

, and over a thousand years old. * Badonkadonk:

onomatopoeic Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', ''m ...

US slang meaning the voluptuously bouncing, large yet firm buttocks of a woman *Batty:

Jamaican Patois Jamaican Patois (; locally rendered Patwah and called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with West African influences, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora. A majority of the non-English ...

, commonly used in certain communities within the UK and Canada. * Booty, US slang, used in the popular slang expression "

booty call ''Booty Call'' is a 1997 American buddy comedy film, written by J. Stanford Parker (credited as Bootsie) and Takashi Bufford, and directed by Jeff Pollack. The film stars Jamie Foxx, Tommy Davidson, Vivica A. Fox, and Tamala Jones. Plot Rushon ...

". It has been suggested that the word derives from a Bambara (West African) word for anus, ''buda''. * Breech, a metaphorical sense derived from on older form of the garment

breeches Breeches ( ) are an article of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles. Formerly a standard item of Western men's c ...

(as the French ''culotte'' meaning pantoloons, via ''cul'' from Latin ''culus'' "butt"), so 'bare breech' means without breeches, ''i.e.'', trouserless butt * Bum: in British English, used frequently in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many other English-speaking Commonwealth countries, also historically in the United States, is a mild often humorous term for buttocks, not necessarily in a vulgar or sexual context: "I've a boil on my bum, thrice as large as my thumb" (''The Judge With The Sore Rump'', St. George Tucker). A bum boy is an insulting term for a male homosexual. * Bumpy: a euphemistic term for the buttocks, used primarily with children *

Buns A bun is a type of bread roll, typically filled with savory fillings (for example hamburger). A bun may also refer to a sweet cake in certain parts of the world. Though they come in many shapes and sizes, buns are most commonly round, and are g ...

, from Gaelic ''bun'' "bottom, base",

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically highe ...

s (cfr.

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word me ...

, a geographical mound, known since 1805 in American English, from (Old) French ''butte'' "mound, knoll") and orbs—shape-metaphors. * Bund: derived from

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

* Bunda:

Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (' ), also Portuguese of Brazil (', ) or South American Portuguese (') is the set of varieties of the Portuguese language native to Brazil and the most influential form of Portuguese worldwide. It is spoken by almost all of ...

slang for buttocks, from

Kimbundu Kimbundu, a Bantu language which has sometimes been called Mbundu or 'North Mbundu' (see Umbundu), is the second-most-widely-spoken Bantu language in Angola. Its speakers are concentrated in the north-west of the country, notably in the Lu ...

''mbunda'', with same meaning. * Butt: the common term for a pair of buttocks in the US (singular, as one body-part; cognate but neither its root nor an abbreviation), used in everyday speech. * Cakes: slang word for buttocks * Can (a container) had an unusual development: the slang meaning "toilet" is recorded c. 1900, said to be a shortening of piss-can, the meaning "buttocks" from c. 1910, and the verb meaning "fire an employee" (to flush=dump?) from 1905. * Cheeks, a shape-metaphor within human anatomy, but also used in the singular: left cheek and right cheek; sounds particularly naughty because of the homonym and the adjective cheeky, lending themselves to word puns * Culo: (From

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

) slang, usually meaning a woman's voluptuous, round and firm buttocks. Derived from a term for booty; in Spanish the term is considered vulgar and offensive, but less so in Spain than in Latin America. * Duffs: Ulster Irish origin * Dumper sometimes denotes the buttocks, especially when they are large. * Fanny: a socially acceptable term in print, in Canada and the United States at least, for many years before some of the bolder terms came along; and a subject of jokes, since "Fannie" can be a woman's name, diminutive of "Frances"; however, in

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadl ...

''fanny'' refers to the female genitals or

vulva The vulva (plural: vulvas or vulvae; derived from Latin for wrapper or covering) consists of the external female sex organs. The vulva includes the mons pubis (or mons veneris), labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, vestibular bulbs, vulv ...

and is considered vulgar. The figure of a bare-bottomed lass named Fanny is ubiquitous in Provence (the southeast of France) wherever

pétanque Pétanque (, ; oc, petanca, , also or ) is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports, along with raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, lawn bowls, and crown green bowling. In all of these sports, players or teams play their boules/balls ...

is played: traditionally when a player loses 13 to 0 it is said that “il est fanny” (he's fanny), and he has to kiss the bottom of a girl called Fanny; as there is rarely an obliging Fanny, there is always a substitute picture, woodcarving or pottery so that Fanny’s bottom is always available. * Fourth point of contact: in military slang, because of the sequence of textbook parachute jump landing * Fundament (literally "foundation", not common in this general sense in English, but for the buttocks since 1297) * Gand or Gaand: a Hindi derivative * Hams, like buttocks generally as a plural, after the meat cut from the analogous part of a hog ; ''pressed ham'' refers to mooning against a window; brawn, a singular derived from the Frankish for ham or roast, is also used for both a muscular body part (but either on arms or legs) or boar meat, especially roast * Hurdies: Scots, origin unknown, also applied to the whole rump *

Haunch Squatting is a versatile posture where the weight of the body is on the feet but the knees and hips are bent. In contrast, sitting involves taking the weight of the body, at least in part, on the buttocks against the ground or a horizontal object. ...

es *

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

was a common shape-metaphor for the butt in English since 1756, and the verb ''to moon'' meant 'to expose to (moon)light' since 1601, long before they were combined in US student slang in the verb (al expression)

"to flash the buttocks" in 1968. * Prat (British English, origin unknown; as in

pratfall Physical comedy is a form of comedy focused on manipulation of the body for a humorous effect. It can include slapstick, clowning, mime, physical stunts, or making funny faces. Physical comedy originated as part of the Commedia dell'arte. It is ...

, a

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Br ...

term; also a term of abuse for a person) * Seat (of the trousers; or metaphorically): another long-standing socially acceptable term, referring to the use for sitting—but compare the sarcastic use of

seat of wisdom Seat of Wisdom or Throne of Wisdom (Latin: ''sedes sapientiae'') is one of many devotional titles for Mary in Roman Catholic tradition. In Seat of Wisdom icons and sculptures, Mary is seated on a throne with the Christ Child on her lap. For the ...

and similar expressions, such as 'seat of learning', referring to use as target for an 'educational'

spanking Spanking is a form of corporal punishment involving the act of striking, with either the palm of the hand or an implement, the buttocks of a person to cause physical pain. The term spanking broadly encompasses the use of either the hand or im ...

. * Sit-upon; has various independent counterparts in other languages, ''e.g.'', Dutch ''zitvlak'' ("sitting plain"), German ''Gesäß'' Italian ''sedere'' * Six; in military terminology, particularly in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, it refers to the term "six o'clock", ''i.e.'', a point directly behind the referenced person. * Tuchis: Yiddish. * Tush or tushy (from the

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

language "tuchis" or "tochis" meaning "under" or "beneath") * Ultimatum (Latin, literally 'the furthest part') was used in slang c.1820s.

Related terms

* The word "callipygian" is sometimes used to describe someone with notably attractive buttocks. The term comes from the Greek ''kallipygos'', (first used for the

Venus Kallipygos The ''Venus Callipyge'', also known as the ''Aphrodite Kallipygos'' ( el, Ἀφροδίτη Καλλίπυγος) or the ''Callipygian Venus'', all literally meaning "Venus (or Aphrodite) of the beautiful buttocks", is an Ancient Roman marble stat ...

) which literally means "beautiful buttocks"; the prefix is also a root of "calligraphy" (beautiful writing) and "calliope" (beautiful voice); ''callimammapygian'' means having both beautiful breasts and buttocks. * Both the English ''(in) tails'' and the Dutch ''billentikker'' ('tapping the buttocks') are ironic terms for very formal coats with a significantly longer tail end as part of festive (especially wedding party) dress * ''Macropygia'' means 'heaving large buttocks, hindquarter', and occurs in biological species names, * A ''pygopag(ous)'' (from the Greek ''pygè'' 'buttock' and ''pagein'' 'attached') was a monster in Ancient (Greek) mythology consisting of two bodies joint by common buttocks, now a medical term for 'Siamese' twins thus joint back-to-back * '' Pygophilia'' is sexual arousal or excitement caused by seeing, playing with or touching the buttocks; people who have strong attraction to buttocks are called ''pygophilists''. * ''Pygoscopia'' means observing someone's rear; ''pygoscopophobia'' a pathological fear to be its unwilling object * ''Pygalgia'' is soreness in the buttocks, i.e. a pain in the rump. * Steatopygia is a marked accumulation of fat in and around the buttocks. * ''Uropygial'' in ornithology means situated on or belonging to the ''uropygium'', i.e. the rump of a bird. * "Bubble butt" has at least two connotations, which are at odds with each other: either a small, round and firm pair of buttocks resembling a pair of soap bubbles next to each other, or a large rear end, seemingly about to burst from the strain. In both cases, the term implies an appealing shapeliness about the buttocks.

Fashion

Georges Seurat - A Sunday on La Grande Jatte -- 1884 - Google Art Project

The

1880s The 1880s (pronounced "eighteen-eighties") was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 1880, and ended on December 31, 1889. The period was characterized in general by economic growth and prosperity in many parts of the world ...

were well known for the fashion trend among women called the

bustle A bustle is a padded undergarment used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging. ...

, which made even the smallest buttocks appear huge. The popularity of this fashion is shown in the famous

Georges Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough su ...

painting ''

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte ''A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'' (french: Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande Jatte) was painted from 1884 to 1886 and is Georges Seurat's most famous work. A leading example of pointillist technique, executed o ...

'' in the two women to the far left and right. Like long underwear with the ubiquitous "butt flap" (used to allow baring only the bottom with a simple gesture, as for hygiene), this clothing style was acknowledged in popular media such as cartoons and comics for generations afterward. More recently, the cleavage of the buttocks is sometimes exposed by some women, deliberately or accidentally, as fashion dictated trousers be worn lower, as with hip-hugger pants. An example of another attitude in an otherwise hardly exhibitionist culture is the Japanese

fundoshi is a traditional Japanese undergarment for adult males and females, made from a length of cotton. Before World War II, the was the main form of underwear for Japanese men and women. However, it fell out of use quickly after the war with the ...

In popular culture

*In 1966

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

made a roughly 90 minute-long experimental film called ''No. 4'', which is colloquially known as ''Bottoms''. It consists of footage of human buttocks in motion while the person walks on a turntable.

Gallery of art

File:Boxer or Apollo Side.jpg, Prominent, muscular buttocks are a standard feature of athletic and military artwork from

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cu ...

, as demonstrated by this statue of a boxer.

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

(c. 460 B.C.) File:The Motya Charioteer, made by a Greek sculptor in Sicily, about 460-450 BC, found in 1979 on the Sicilian island of Motya (Mozia), Winning at the ancient Games, British Museum (7642744838).jpg, The

Motya Charioteer The Motya (or Mozia) Charioteer is a marble statue dating from the ancient Greek Classical Period. It was found in October 1979 in the ancient city of Motya ( it, Mozia), originally a Phoenician settlement which occupied the island of San Pant ...

, from Ancient Greece (c. 460-450 B.C.) File:Studio Jean Jacques Lequeu.jpg,

Jean-Jacques Lequeu Jean-Jacques Lequeu (September 14, 1757 – March 28, 1826) was a French draughtsman and architect. Life Lequeu was born in Rouen, and won a scholarship to go to Paris. Following the French Revolution, his architectural career never took of ...

(c. 1785) File:Étude de fesses.jpg, Félix Vallotton (c. 1884)

References

External links

"The Muscles and Fasciæ of the Thigh"
(by Henry Gray) a
"Anatomy of the Human Body"
1918. {{Authority control Human surface anatomy Lower limb anatomy Human sexuality